I haven't seen a single Japanese Beetle in our garden all summer. Has anyone else noticed their absence.

Yes,......only a few this year..:yay:

I am pretty sure that is George Bush's fault.......
Probably due to Global cooling.

I only had a few too. Plants were spared them, but no rain has taken it's toll on some of my mature trees.

Last year...tons
This year...not a single one
:shrug:

Now that you mention it, none seen.

Now that you mention it, none seen.

:yeahthat: Last year they devistated my rose bushes and many trees. This year there was only a handful that showed up.

I only saw 1 beetle all summer. But I think the crickets have taken their place! :jameo: Not that it matters, because they don't hurt the plants, I've just noticed a bumper cricket crop. :lol: And so have my chickens. :yum:

So does anyone have any idea why we have lost the beetles and how we can repeat the miracle from now on?

I only saw one but it single handedly tried to destroy my weeping cherry tree. I went out to water the tree and noticed some of the leaves had been attacked. Then I saw the one lone bug and googled to see what the heck it was - Japanese beetle. Sprayed the heck outta the tree and he hasn't been back since.

Same here, we've seen only a few.

On the positive side, we had lots of 'real bees' in addition to the normal bumble bees.


In Maryland the Japanese beetle has one generation per year and overwinters as third instar larva in the soil. Adult emergence occurs over a 3-4 week period from late June to mid-July and adults may live for 4-6 weeks. Adult beetles are attracted to one another due to the production of both aggregation and sex pheromones. Females will burrow into the soil (2-4") and lay their eggs. Egg laying occurs during July and August with a reported 75% of eggs laid by mid-August.
The larval or white grub stage will extend from late August through the fall and into the spring (late May). There are 3 instar stages for white grubs; the first and second instar stages are normally completed within 5-7 weeks. The third instar stage occurs by fall and the larvae will remain as third instars until late May. They will overwinter at a soil depth ranging from 4-8 inches. As soil temperatures warm in the Spring they will return to the soil surface (less than 1" depth) by the beginning of April. Prepupa and pupa development will occur in June.


japanese beetle (http://iaa.umd.edu/umturf/Insects/japanese_beetle.html)

Same here, we've seen only a few.

On the positive side, we had lots of 'real bees' in addition to the normal bumble bees.



japanese beetle (http://iaa.umd.edu/umturf/Insects/japanese_beetle.html)

I know what you mean about the bees. I was out taking a lot of photos yesterday and it seemed like every plant with a flower on it was frequently visited by either a bee, wasp or butterfly. Maybe they ate the beetles earlier in the season. Wouldn't that be great?

Just spit-ballin here, but maybe we have the moles to thank for the lack of the Japanese Beetles. I have heard that the moles eat the Beetle Larva / Grub Worm and although I have seen none of the beetles, I'm seeing way more moles this year. :shrug:
Not sure which I'd rather put up with.

I am pretty sure that is George Bush's fault.......
Probably due to Global cooling.

:killingme:killingme

Just spit-ballin here, but maybe we have the moles to thank for the lack of the Japanese Beetles. I have heard that the moles eat the Beetle Larva / Grub Worm and although I have seen none of the beetles, I'm seeing way more moles this year. :shrug:
Not sure which I'd rather put up with.

Anything is possible I guess. And correct on the moles. We get them in our yard every now and then, but this year it seems like I have their trails everywhere in the yard. Every time I put the spring trap in a different place, they just seem to bypass it and start a new tunnel. I was out walking in a open field yesterday and kept feeling the tunnels every where I walked.

The last few years here in Maryland the Jap beetles have taken a toll on my rose bushes and my large azalia bushes, this year hardly a one. I think they all moved to West Virginia, at my farm out in central WV this year they devastated my fruit trees, raspberry bushes, rose of sharon bushes and were all over the milkweed. I was pulling buckets of them off. I bought a large bag of milky spore and will begin applying it this fall to hopefully retard their emergence next year.

Anything is possible I guess. And correct on the moles. We get them in our yard every now and then, but this year it seems like I have their trails everywhere in the yard. Every time I put the spring trap in a different place, they just seem to bypass it and start a new tunnel. I was out walking in a open field yesterday and kept feeling the tunnels every where I walked.


Moles suck:cds: